President Chen Shui-bian (
He made the comment in his welcoming remarks at a state banquet given last night in honor of Gambian President Yahya Alphonse Jamus Jebulai Jammeh, who arrived in Taipei yesterday for a four-day visit.
"The Gambian president is a man who wrote history," Chen said. "He was the first one to chose a female running mate for a presidential election."
"He chose a female running mate for his first presidential election, and a woman candidate for the vice presidency for his re-election bid. And, the two female candidates were the same woman," Chen said.
Lu, who also attended the banquet, beamed as she listened to Chen's speech.
That speech was the second time in as many days that Chen has hinted that he might run with Lu in next year's presidential election.
"On March 20 next year, I hope everyone will use their democratic vote to support again the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] and support A-bian and Annette Lu to continue to serve the people," Chen said Tuesday night at a temple in Taipei, referring to himself by his nickname.
Senior DPP officials declined to speculate yesterday on whether Chen's remarks meant he had decided on Lu as his running mate.
A DPP spokesman said Chen would formally declare his candidacy for the election in December and announce a running mate at that time.
In addition to Lu, political observers and local media have talked of Taipei County Governor Su Tseng-chang (
While Lu would bring more international connections and exposure to Chen's camp than Su, analysts said it was too early to conclude from Chen's comments that she is the president's preferred choice as a running mate.
Next year's presidential election will be hotly contested since many of the DPP government's initiatives have fallen flat.
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